Do you remember Wasila Tasi'u, the Nigerian child bride who poisoned and killed her 35-year-old husband, Umar Sani, and four others?
Do you remember Santadevi Meghwal, the Indian child bride who refused to live with betrothed husband after she became aware at the age of 16 that she had been "given away" at 11 months of age to a then nine year old as a wife?
Do you remember the Chibok schoolgirls from northern Nigeria, who were kidnapped from a place that could have given them the opportunity to have bright futures?
It's quite disturbing that in 2015, the female, (especially the "colored" female) is still regarded worldwide as an object of sexual reference and inferiority. It disgusts me when I watch CNN or read a global newspaper and the face on a young girl, usually before the age of 16, is married off to a man three or possibly four times her age. The worst part about it is that the man in question see no reason to believe that he is in violation of the fact that his child-bride is physically and emotionally too weak to go through the complications of childbirth. According to www.girlsnotbrides.org, this is the reason why childbirth complications, sexual abuse and the violation of human rights are the leading causes of death in girls aged 15 to 19 in poverty-stricken countries around the world. Now don't get me wrong, your culture is what molds you into the person that you are. But Mr. Man, if your mother was given away at such a young age to your father, and you have seen how your mother was treated by your father and his family, what makes you think that it is your right as a man to deflower and strip the pride and dignity of a female child? How would you feel if someone deflowered your daughter? Why can't you look for a mature girl in her 20's, whose hormones can handle the fondling hands given from the opposite sex?
Those who still support the union of a man and his child bride fail to realize that such a union encourages the thorns of poverty to grow and flourish. In most societies, child-brides are forced to abandon their education to play the role of the "domestic engineer": stay at home, cook, clean, open her legs at her husband's leisure, have his children and be submissive. Such duties will render the child bride unsuccessful in helping her family out of poverty. Other misfortunes such as genital mutilation and rape are the leading causes of world epidemics like HIV/AIDS.
So to the young girls who aspire to become a doctor, lawyer, TV anchor, fashion designer or teacher: The pressure of the world may be heavy on your shoulders but always remember that at the end of the day, Knowledge Is Power. Remain focused, get good grades, join a big sister/little sister group, encourage one another and NEVER EVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS. The world is your canvass, make use of it!
Young Lady, Thou Shall Conquer.
Krissy.
